Andres Guardado departs European football

It has been officially confirmed that Mexican football legend, Andres Guardado, will be departing La Liga side Real Betis on a free transfer this month.

The 37-year-old former Mexico captain is moving back to his home country and joining Liga MX side Club Leon this month after the Mexican top-flight Clausura began at the weekend.

The left-footed midfielder, who began his career as a left-winger but is now playing more often than not in defensive midfield, began his career with Club Atlas in 2005.

He moved to Deportivo La Coruna in 2007 and made 149 appearances for the Galicians before moving to Valencia for a season and a half. After his first spell in Spain, he joined Bayer Leverkusen on an underwhelming loan deal before moving to the Netherlands and playing 102 times for PSV Eindhoven.

He moved back to Spain in the summer of 2017, joining Real Betis from PSV. He has played 217 times for the Andalusians. During his career, he has won the UEFA Intertoto Cup with Depor, two Eredivisie titles, the Johan Cruyff Shield on two occasions before the 2021/22 Copa del Rey with Manuel Pellegrino’s Betis.

Internationally, he won three CONCACAF Gold Cups and scored 28 goals in 179 caps for El Tri in a 17-year career between 2005 and then his retirement at the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Leon, coached by Jorge Bava, will be expecting to challenge for the Clausura title this season and he joins the likes of Angel Mena and Rodolfo Cota at Estadio Leon in Guanajuato.